


Jeggy and the Turtles

by LancelotOfTheRevolutionarySet



Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Alexander is a jerk, Angry Angelica Schuyler, Bisexual John, F/M, Face Slapping, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Humor, John Laurens Loves Turtles, Karaoke, Kissing, Peggy Schuyler is a Good Sister, Pet Store, Singing, We all need a turtle shell, poor eliza
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-27
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-18 11:28:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,782
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29733183
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LancelotOfTheRevolutionarySet/pseuds/LancelotOfTheRevolutionarySet
Summary: John has always been in love with his best friend but, after a drunk kiss, he realises that Alex will never love him in that way and that he has to get over him. One day, he meets the most bizarre and beautiful girl he's ever seen, but little does he know that Peggy is Eliza's sister - the same Eliza Alexander has cheated on with him.
Relationships: John Laurens/Margaret "Peggy" Schuyler
Comments: 1
Kudos: 4





	Jeggy and the Turtles

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! ♡ I've started writing some one-shot stories on Wattpad and I've decided to publish some of them here as well. They are kinda "commissioned" stories since the readers can ask for a specific couple and a setting (like canon era, modern, college, etc.) and I'll write them! If you want to ask for a story find me on Wattpad (@HardRockLikeLancelot).
> 
> This one is a Jeggy fanfiction and, since it was the first time I wrote about these two characters, I needed to sort of "introduce" them to me as well, that's why this story is a bit longer than the others! 
> 
> Three quick things:  
> 1- The title of this FF would be a perfect name for a band. Full stop.  
> 2- I obviously don't go out very often (who does these days) and that's why I probably failed to grasp the atmosphere of the club - I definitely preferred to write the pet shop scene ;)  
> 3- The song John sings at the karaoke is "I Met a Girl" by William Michael Morgan. I do NOT own the lyrics.
> 
> That's it, if you like the story go check my other fanfic "Mr Jefferson is Coming Home"! And don't forget to comment to let me know if you liked it! Love ya! ♡

It was a quiet day at the store. Well, as quiet as a pet shop could be – there were two pups that were playing in a huge box on the right side of the counter, yelping as they rolled on one another; there was Alvin that said hello to everyone who passed by the street nearby, looking through the window and sometimes knocking on it with his beak if someone stopped too long on the sidewalk; there were the hamsters running on their tiny wheels, getting tired every ten or fifteen second and then excited again. What everyone needs to remember though is that a pet shop, more than being noisy, is colourful – there were rainbow-feathered parrots, tiny multi-coloured fish, tabby cats and bright-skinned reptiles, besides tons of shiny food-cans and variegated pet accessories.

Despite the great variety of animals you could choose to cuddle with, John’s favourites were the turtles. He’d always found them funny, cute and both delicate and strong animals: first of all, they had the most adorable tiny heads that popped out of their shells only when they were a hundred percent sure no one would harm them; then, John simply loved the clumsy way they walked; lastly, the turtle-shells’ patterns had always had a calming effect on him – he was charmed by those peaceful little animals. Sometimes he felt like a turtle too, he was clumsy and didn’t like to be under the spotlight – if he had a shell where to hide, he would definitely use it at least thirty times a day. Fortunately he didn’t have to put himself forward very often, since his best friends were all very extrovert and monopolized the attentions of everyone, everywhere they went. John didn’t mind to watch them from aside, they were the best friends he could ever ask for – well, he would like for Alex to be more than a friend, but –

“Hello?” a girl with long curly hair was waving her hand in front of his face and John suddenly remembered that he was at work and shouldn’t be daydreaming about his disastrous love life.

“Oh, sorry, what can I do for you?” he smiled at the girl, who cocked her head to the side in a funny way and read his name on the uniform’s name tag.

“Er…John, right? Are you OK? I talked for like four minutes before actually noticing that you weren’t listening, I thought you were having a stroke,” she joked, without hiding her concern though.

“Yes, yes; I didn’t hear the bell when you entered and I was just thinking about – nothing,” he chuckled awkwardly and straightened up, “are you looking for a pet?”

“Actually, yes – my sister has just broken up with her boyfriend and I wanted to get her some pet she can hug.”

“Oh, ok, which kind does she like?”

“Unfaithful jerks, so it seems.”

“Er…I meant, which kind of animal,” John shot a worried look at the girl’s murderous stare and rubbed the back of his head, confused.

“Oh right – no, yes, you’re totally right,” she smiled again, “I don’t know, we had a dog when we were kids, but my mother would kill me if I brought a dog at home.”

Despite her words, she absent-mindedly walked towards the dogs’ box; the two puppies started jumping and licking her hand at once, barking happily.

John observed her, trying to imagine her sister and which animal she would like to receive; but in the end he forgot about the broken-hearted sister and found himself admiring the girl in front of him. She had a beautiful round face and a wide smile – it was sweet, but also kinda childish, as if she’d never lost her childlike enthusiasm and it showed fully when she smiled.

“Joooohn!”

“Yes!”

“You were daydreaming again – oh gosh, are you in love?”

“What? No, I –

“Yes, you are! Well, while we search for a pet, you can tell me about your crush.”

“I don’t even know you,” John answered, wishing once more to have a turtle-shell to hide himself from that girl that reminded him so much of Alexander.

“I’m Peggy,” she shook his hand and then started marching around the store again, looking at the fish tanks and the cages all around, “I think she could like a chinchilla maybe, it’s not like a dog, but it will do.”

“What about a turtle?”

“A turtle.” She looked at him as if he was joking, then realised that John was looking at the greenish animals with too much fondness not to be serious, “how can you hug a turtle?”

“Well, they’re not for huggers, but you can talk to them – they’re very intelligent animals, do you know that they date back to the time of dinosaurs?”

“Cool,” she crouched down to look into the turtle tank, pointing at the biggest one, “wow, that one’s pretty big, how’s that no one bought it?”

“It was born without rear limbs,” John shrugged, “it’s no big deal, Alex is the shop’s turtle.”

“Alex?”

“Yeah, it’s Alexander – I named it after they let me keep it here.”

“Ooh, so that’s the name of your crush!” she giggled and turned to John – her eyes widened when she saw him blushing and realised her guess was right, “so it’s a he!”

“Actually I – I’m bi, but I stupidly fell in love with my best friend, who will never see me in that way,” John stood up again, grabbing some seeds for the hamsters and turning away from Peggy.

He really didn’t know why he was telling this girl about his love problems, but she seemed to be a good person, John had liked her from the first moment – why shouldn’t he trust her? It was not like she knew who Alexander was anyway.

“I’m trying to get over him anyway,” he went on, looking away from her hazel eyes, “it happened that last week he drunk a bit too much and kissed me – not just me actually, he kissed a lot of people – and in the end I found him making out with Jeff… with another _friend_.”

“Wait,” Peggy suddenly grabbed him by the shoulder and make him face her, “what is the name of your friend?”

“Alexander”

“Alexander what?”

“Alexander Hamilton,” John prayed the girl didn’t know him, but as soon as he uttered the words, her face turned livid.

Crap.

She didn’t say another word but slapped John with all her might and went away without turning back. John stood there, completely still, with his mouth open and a hand covering his reddening cheek – what the hell had just happened?

* * *

“Alex I don’t really feel like going out tonight, I have to work in the morning,” John complained while his friend looted his closet, throwing some fresh clothes at him.

“Change,” Alexander sat on the bed and waited for John to comply, “come on, John, it’s Laf’s birthday!”

“But he’s throwing a party on Saturday!”

“Yeah, for everyone else, but tonight it’s just the four of us, come ooooon!”

“All right, I do it for Gilbert,” John sighed and headed to the bathroom to change, “where are we going?”

“Club – it’s karaoke night!”

“Oh no,” John whined, but followed his friend outside and embraced his fate – why didn’t humans have a freaking shell where to hide when they wanted to avoid social events?!

The club was packed with people. Luckily for them, Herc had booked a table so they easily found their seats and ordered something to drink.

“Laf, how’s the internship going?”

“Oh John it’s exhausting!” he pretended to faint on his seat out of tiredness, “But my boss, _Monsieur_ Washington, is the best – he invited me for dinner last week, and I felt almost at home, he and his wife are so _aimable_.”

“I bet they’ll try to adopt you before the end of the year,” Herc joked, coming back with their drinks, “John, there’s a girl next to the bar who’s looking at you as if she wants to murder you or something.”

“Who?” John scanned the mob that was crowding the bar and spotted an angry little yellow thing, “oh, shit – Peggy.”

“WHAT?” Alexander followed his gaze and grew suddenly pale, “fuck, how do you know her?”

“She came to the shop earlier today to buy a pet for her sister, who – guess what – has been cheated on by a jerk.”

“Jeez John, no need to be so offensive,” Alex looked surprised at him, “you didn’t seem so critical before today.”

“Wait a minute – is she Eliza’s sister?”

“Yes,” Alexander suddenly realised that John hadn’t joined the points yet, “Margarita Schuyler, alias Peggy.”

“Oh my god, that’s why she slapped me.”

“She did what?” Gilbert instantly stood up to go and talk to her.

“Gil, wait, she had all the rights to do it,” John couldn’t say that he was one of the many Alexander had cheated on Eliza with, “I’ll go talk to her.”

“Just be careful – if Angelica is with her, be ready for another slap.”

“Thank you, that’s very comforting,” John groaned and headed towards the girl at the bar.

All around them people were chatting and laughing, drinking and signing up their friends for the songs they (probably not) wanted to sing. John saw Peggy tapping on a tall girl’s shoulder and telling her something before walking towards him; he suddenly realised he didn’t know what to say to her and almost made a U-turn to go away, but Peggy grabbed him by the arm before his escape.

“Fancy seeing you here, with your beloved Alex,” she crossed her arms and frowned at him.

“Hey,” John smiled at her countenance and searched for something better to say, without results, “you look good tonight.”

Peggy seemed surprised by his comment and looked at him for a moment before bursting into laugh.

“What?” John was genuinely confused.

“I slapped you in the face less than four hours ago, and you come here and tell me that I look good?” she gently placed a hand on John’s cheek, the same one she’d slapped before, “you’re so cute.”

“Thanks, er – so you’re not angry with me anymore?”

“How could I? Eliza told me you didn’t know anything about me,” Peggy shrugged, “I thought you were telling me those things to make fun of my sister’s situation, I’m so sorry I reacted so irrationally, I’m too instinctive sometimes.”

“It’s OK, apologise accepted,” John smiled and this time Peggy beamed back at him, “do you want something to drink?”

“Oh – I have to find my sisters, but I’ll see you later on the dance floor maybe,” she winked and went away, leaving an enchanted John to return to his table with a dreamy smile on his face.

He dropped on his wooden stool just in time to hear his friends choosing the songs for the karaoke.

“John, you have to sing this time,” Herc was already scribbling his name on the list.

“No! Herc, not tonight please,” John tried to grab the paper, but Gilbert was faster and took the sheet away from his grasp.

“You said the same thing last time!”

“Ugh – all right,” John rolled his eyes and stopped his friend before he went off to give their list to the bartender, “but if I have to sing, I want to choose the song this time.”

“As you wish, _mon cher_.”

* * *

When he stepped on the little stage on the side of the room, John felt he was about to throw up. He focused on his breath and, as soon as he walked to the microphone, visualized himself within his shell – no one was really there to listen to him singing, he was alone in the darkness, he was safe. Suddenly his song, _I Met a Girl_ , started and he breathed deeply before drawing the microphone to his lips.

John wasn’t a bad singer, in fact he was quite good and all; he simply was too shy to sing in front of a whole crowd of strangers _and_ the girl he liked. As he sang the first chorus he realized he’d only talked to Peggy twice but was already smitten with her. He imagined Peggy being in his shell-like safe place with him and smiled – the song was for her after all, the girl who’d made him forget about all the other crushes he’d had, with her child-like grin and her lively temper.

As he sang the second chorus, he heard some people singing along with him and dared to open an eye to peek. People were singing and clapping their hands, following the rhythm – it seemed like they were really enjoying themselves, and he kept his eyes open for the rest of the song, trying to spot Peggy somewhere in the sea of heads.

“ _She turned around and it felt like the world turned upside down, and the only thing I could say was ‘hey’, and I’m so glad she didn’t walk away_ ,” he continued to sing as he found the girl in the yellow dress he was looking for. Peggy was looking at him with wide eyes and a bright smile on her face; her two sisters were casting questioning glances both to her and to his friends’ table, where Alex, Laf and Herc were cheering for him. Before he had the time to think about the fact that he’d just sung in front of a whole club, he was heading to his table again; Alex complimented him for the performance, while Gilbert and Herc wanted to know if the song was for someone special. They continued harassing him until John felt a soft tap on his shoulder and turned to face the Schuyler sisters.

Alexander almost ran away at once, but Angelica grabbed him by the sleeve and dragged him away to ‘talk’ – before going, Alexander quickly told John where to search for his body if he didn’t return before half an hour. In the meantime, Eliza smiled at the others and started chatting amiably with Gil and Herc as usual – she was their friend too and they had all grown very fond of her in the last months.

“John,” Peggy whispered to his ear, “do you want to dance?”

“What about a walk?” he’d already sang, he wasn’t sure he could bring himself to dance in the same night.

“That’s even better,” she grinned and took his hand to lead him outside the club.

They walked side by side without saying anything for a while. It was not an uncomfortable silence though, it was as if they were again in their safe space together, far from everyone else. Peggy stopped to look at the moon and John look up as well – the moon was full and bright, its crooked face seemed to be looking back down at them.

“Have I mentioned that I like your freckles?” Peggy was gazing at him now, “you’re cute.”

“Er, I –

“Was the song for me?” she suddenly looked deadly serious – jeez it was like being on a roller coaster with her.

“Yes, I was wondering how to tell you that you’re making the whole ‘get over your crush’ super easy for me – oh, but I don’t want you to think that I’m doing it to make Alexander jealous or to distract myself from that situation, it’s just that I really like you and –

John couldn't finish his wishy-washy speech because, as soon as he admitted to like her, Peggy moved closer to him and pressed his lips on John’s. He was so surprised by her sudden move that took Peggy’s face in his hands and kissed her back without thinking too much about it. 

After a while they looked up at the moon once again, but this time John was holding Peggy in his arms, resting his head on her shoulder. She was already talking about a hundred of things she wanted him to know about her life and he was happily listening to her beautiful voice while tracing a pattern on her bronze skin with his finger.

“Oh my, I have to go back – our father told us to be home before midnight,” she rushed back to the club, dragging John with her, “maybe tomorrow I can stop by the shop?”

“I’d love it,” John kissed her again, “maybe you’ll buy that puppy to your sister at last – this time no slaps though.”

“I think I’ll take a turtle in the end.”

“But you said you can't _hug_ a turtle!”

“As a matter of fact, turtle boy, I discovered that you can actually hug them – and that they’re even more beautiful with their shells and all, so yes, I’ll take a turtle.”


End file.
